The Most Extraordinary Life
by JunoInferno
Summary: Donna Smith recently discovered she was married to an alien and her children are part Time Lord, but is there something she has yet to discover about herself? Sequel to An Ordinary Human Life.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. So, I've been getting a lot of requests about my follow up to "An Ordinary Human Life," which you should have read to understand this. Rest assured, it is in the works, but consider this a teaser. Happy reading!

* * *

In even the darkest of hours, wonderful things can happen. They shine even brighter against the dark and this was Gallifrey's darkest hour. The war with the Daleks had been raging for what seemed a long time even to a species that lived for thousands of years.

The Trident had lived thousands of years. He had seen many things and could see the end of things. Yet, in his house, in a little room overlooking the garden was a new thing. Something just beginning.

His new daughter. So small, so fragile. She had ginger hair. Who had ever even heard of a ginger Time Lady? Her eyes had a ring of green and another of blue. He loved her very much, more than was proper. He wanted to do the best he could for her. And the best thing was to send her away.

He did what he had to. He borrowed an old Type 40 TARDIS and took the girl away while her mother slept. The baby cried such screams in the Chameleon Arch and it pained the Trident beyond belief, but he knew making her human was the only way to keep her safe. For now. She was special. The Trident could see that as well.

Earth was a safe enough little planet. Safer than Gallifrey. He would have to choose suitable parents. That was the tricky bit.

The Trident carried her along in a Moses basket as he walked down the street. This was Earth. London, Chiswick. The year was 1970 AD and he was going to the home of Geoffrey and Sylvia Noble in a curious land called Chiswick.

Geoffrey answered the door. He looked at the man in the morning suit curiously. Who wore a morning suit that wasn't a cabinet minister?

"Mr. Noble?," he asked, taking his hat off.

"Yes."

"I'm Mister Trident," he said flashing his psychic paper. "Parson Edwards must have spoken to you."

"Yes, well," he eyed the Moses basket as the baby cooed, "we weren't expecting anything quite so soon. Please come in."

The Trident entered. It was a cozy little house, bright and clean. Evidence of extended family everywhere.

"Sylvia?," called Geoffrey. "Mister Trident is here."

Geoffrey showed the Trident to the sitting room and shut off the football match on telly. He took a seat on the sofa and put the Moses basket on the floor.

Sylvia entered, still wearing her apron. She looked around and specifically at the Moses basket on the floor.

"What's going on here?," she asked.

"This is Mister Trident. Parson Edwards spoke to him."

Sylvia sat. "I don't understand."

"Parson Edwards explained to me that you had been looking to adopt a child."

"So, you just brought one by?," Sylvia asked incredulously.

"Sylvia, love..." said Geoffrey.

"No, your wife is quite right," said the Trident. He was glad for the evidence of Sylvia's skepticism. It meant she was a suitable protector for his daughter. "I'm laboring on behalf of some very high profile people. This little girl is theirs and they are unable to give her a suitable home. Parson Edwards explained you were good people, unable to have your own child."

Geoffrey patted Sylvia's hand. "We've tried for years."

"It's just been so hard," said Sylvia. "Why can't they give her a home?"

He took a deep breath. "They are dying."

"Dying?," asked Geoffrey.

"But the child is in perfect health, the family only wishes to spare her a miserable fate."

"Miserable?," asked Sylvia.

"She would be alone in the universe. You could spare her that."

Sylvia looked at the baby. The Trident could tell she was quickly being taken in.

"There are some conditions. First, you must never tell her she was not your child. You must raise her as you would your own."

"And?," asked Sylvia.

The Trident took a small wooden box out of the pocket of his coat.

"In here is a locket. It must be kept in her possession, but it must never be opened. Not until she chooses."

"Are you sure there's not anything else?," asked Sylvia as the Trident stood in the doorway to the front path. She now held the baby in her arms and she had fallen asleep in her fancy white gown.

"No," said the Trident, facing the path outside, already wishing he were gone. "That is all."

"What's she called?," asked Sylvia with a little irritation. This man was being awfully peculiar about all this, just bringing a baby by and dropping her off.

He turned back. "Oh. She is called Donnavariadanna."

Sylvia looked at Geoffrey, then the Trident. "Do you suppose we could call her Donna?"

"As you wish," the Trident answered.

Without speaking another word, the Trident walked away because another word would have broken his resolve. Another word and he would have taken his baby home.

No, he thought. She must stay here. Earth is her home now. I have no home to give her.

When he made it back to the old Type 40 TARDIS, he finally turned back around to look at the Nobles as they stood on their front step holding Donna. They were cuddling her, cooing back at her.

She would be fine.

The Trident shut the door and the brakes of the TARDIS began to grind as it faded away.

Sylvia looked up at Geoffrey. "What on Earth was all that racket?"

* * *

A/N: I know it's a trope, but I didn't make up the eye thing. Catherine Tate's are actually like that.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. So, here is an actual chapter and not just a teaser. I hope it doesn't disappoint. Thanks for the reviews and the interest and happy reading!

* * *

The sky was strange. Red. Donna walked, finding her feet brushing up against red grass.

The shadow of a man in the distance.

She walked towards him, nearly blinded by the light of two suns.

Blinking back to life, Donna awoke with a start to see Greta standing on the bed, looking at her. She barked.

Donna looked over at the clock. "Oh, God, it's time to collect Zoe!"

Donna hurried to try to make herself presentable enough for the school run. She was feeling a little rough these days, due to the eighth month of her pregnancy, the antics of three half Time Lord children and the distinct lack of sleep. She did what she could, grabbed her bag and got in the Land Rover to head to the school.

Donna pulled up to the school and found a place to park. She hurried inside the gate.

"Mrs. Smith," said the teacher. "Zoe's just left. She said she was walking home today."

"Walking home?!," spat Donna. "Why the hell would I let her walk home? Are you out of your mind?!"

Donna suddenly got a flash of Zoe and a car heading towards her, going way too fast. She ran back out the gate, ignoring the teacher's calls for her.

She rushed down the road, suddenly remembering how much she hated running and how she had never attempted it while pregnant.

She rounded the next block and finally spotted Zoe.

"Zoe!," she screamed.

Zoe turned and just then Donna saw that same red car from the flicker coming towards her, going way too fast.

"Zoe! Get out of the road!," Donna shouted, heading towards her.

Zoe froze and looked up to see the car. She shrieked as it headed towards her. The driver suddenly turned and instead crashed into a parked car. Pedestrians ran over to help as Donna headed for Zoe.

"What were you thinking?!," Donna shrieked.

Zoe shook her head. "I don't know."

Donna pulled the girl against her. She looked up to see the driver getting out of his ruined Fiat Panda.

"Are you stupid or something?!," the man shouted at Zoe. "Don't you watch where the hell you're going? What kind of idiot walks through the middle of the road?!"

Zoe burst out in tears. Donna stood in front of her. "And who the hell do you think you are, speeding through here?! There are three schools around here, you can't drive through like a maniac! Especially in that daft car! Who the hell would see you?!"

"You're lucky I didn't hit your brat, you fat cow!"

"Do you think I won't fight you?!," Donna shouted. "You do not want to mess about with a pregnant ginger!"

The police soon arrived after some of the pedestrians already split up Donna and the driver. After everything was settled, Donna headed with Zoe back to the car.

"I still don't understand why you started walking yourself home!," Donna exclaimed. "It's not just cars, miss, there's bad people. You could get lost..."

Zoe started sobbing again. Donna pulled the car over and turned around. "I'm not trying to upset you, love, I just want you to be careful."

"I don't want to be the stupid one!," Zoe cried.

"What?"

"Charlotte and Jack and Jamie," she said, interrupted by her own sniffles, "they're all clever now and they get to do everything and I'm just stupid! And the baby will come and she'll be cleverer than me, too!"

Donna shook her head. "That's just not true, Zoe. We all love you and I wouldn't let any of them out on their own, either."

Zoe sobbed. "I thought you forgot about me."

"No, no," said Donna, "I could never forget about you. You're my little girl. No matter what. Okay?"

Zoe nodded.

"Okay," said Donna, turning back to the steering wheel, "let's go home."

* * *

_**Hampton Court Palace, 1565 **_

The Doctor was heading back through Hampton Court when the courtier stepped forward.

"Her Majesty is expecting you," he said.

"Oh, right," said the Doctor. He checked his watch. "I just need to be getting back before supper time, that's all."

The courtier didn't say anything.

"Right," said the Doctor, "let's go see the Queen then."

* * *

_**Ten Minutes Later... **_

"There has been a big misunderstanding!," said the Doctor as he ran back through the palace.

Queen Elizabeth I was running after the Doctor, still in her night-clothes. Her ladies in waiting were not far behind.

"See, I only married you to stop the invasion!," said the Doctor. "It wasn't for real!"

"You will not disobey me, Doctor!," shouted Elizabeth.

"It's nothing personal! I like gingers and all! In fact, my wife is ginger!"

The Doctor looked back to see he was getting closer to where he had parked the TARDIS.

"Your wife?!," spat the queen. Her ladies gasped.

"Oh, yeah, main reason I can't you know, consummate, with you. I don't think she'd like it much and besides, we've got four children, five really, well, she's very much on the way and you know you've got to maintain stability in the home life and all that, at least that's what the chat shows say, which you ought to know-"

"Why ought I know?!"

"Uh, no reason. And anyway, I only came here to help my daughter with her homework! She was trying to do this presentation on famous gingers and I could only think of Geri Halliwell and Prince Harry!"

The Queen reached to a table and threw a vase at the Doctor's head, which he only narrowly dodged.

"Well, there goes refuting the stereotype," the Doctor muttered.

"This endless prattling will cease! You will come to my bedchamber and do your duty!"

"My duty? Blimey, you really know how to romance a man."

"Or you will go to the Tower!"

The Doctor shook his head. "What is it with the Tower? It's the Tower every single time with you lot!"

The Doctor then noticed that they had been joined by the palace guards. He looked to where he could see the TARDIS around the corner.

"Uh, anyway, ought to be going. It's Chicken Tikka Masala night. Donna gets it from Tesco, but it's still tasty. Anyway, bye!"

The Doctor bolted for the TARDIS and hurried inside as the guards chased him, banging on the door. He rushed to the controls and started the TARDIS engines.

The ship hummed.

"Okay," said the Doctor, "that was a bad idea."

* * *

The TARDIS arrived back at the house just in time for the Doctor to hear the smoke alarms going off.

He raced downstairs and into the sitting room where Jamie and Jack stood around the tea table which was up in flames for some reason. Donna had them pushed back and was using the fire extinguisher. The Doctor took it and took over putting out the flames, leaving the center of the sitting room covered in foam. They turned to the boys.

"What was that?!," Donna screeched.

"It was Chemistry homework," said Jack.

"What sort of chemistry homework?," asked the Doctor.

"You know," said Jamie, "combining potassium and chloride and-"

The Doctor sniffed. "That's methanol."

Donna threw her hands up. "No chemistry homework at all! Not unless it's a worksheet or a bloody homemade volcano!"

Jack and Jamie looked at each other inquisitively.

"Never mind!," said Donna. "The homemade volcano is off!"

The boys moaned.

"Clean this up," said the Doctor. "And honestly, no open flame in the house!"

"Or anywhere," said Donna.

"Or anywhere," said the Doctor. "That's a good rule. Let's stick with that."

The Doctor followed Donna back in the kitchen.

"I don't think this new school is working out," said Donna.

"Why not?," asked the Doctor.

Frustrated, Donna started bringing out plates and slamming them on the table. "The boys are a menace-"

"They were always a menace."

"Charlotte has been composing a symphony all afternoon-"

"Is that so bad?"

"Zoe feels like a failure."

The Doctor's face dropped. "What? Why does Zoe feel like a failure?"

"Because you got the others into that school."

"Well, that was the Brigadier's idea to give them a lower profile and after all, they had dyed their PE teacher red, we sort of had to."

"Yes, but they all went there and now what's she supposed to think? Not to mention Jamie sharing Jack's room! Her twin, her best friend her whole life, has just left her."

The Doctor shrugged. "I'm sorry, Donna, but we can't go back."

"Yes, but what the hell is forward?," Donna snapped.

"Are you alright?," asked the Doctor.

"I'm fine," said Donna, shrugging and self-consciously turning back to the cooker. "Go see Zoe."

The Doctor kissed Donna and put his hand on her belly for a moment. The baby was kicking like mad and stilled under his touch.

"Oh, see there," said the Doctor, "we've got a bond already, haven't we?"

He kissed Donna again and headed upstairs.

* * *

The Doctor knocked on Zoe's door. She was sitting on her bed with Greta and her teddy bear.

"Zo-zo-zoe!," he offered cheerfully as he bounded in and sat down next to her. "How was school?"

"Okay," said Zoe.

"Just okay?," asked the Doctor as he scratched behind Greta's ears. "That's no fun."

"What did you do?," asked Zoe.

"Well, I travelled to the court of Queen Elizabeth I, stopped an alien invasion of Earth and then... well, best not mention that."

"What happened?," asked Zoe.

"Best to just leave it," said the Doctor. He leaned down to her. "You know we love you."

"Yes," said Zoe.

"You're not acting as if you do," said the Doctor.

Zoe shrugged.

"Our love for you isn't based on how clever you are or how beautiful you are and you are both those things and so much more, but it's based on the fact that you just are. I've loved you since the moment I know about you. That fast."

"I'm not Time Lord," said Zoe.

"Well, you'd be a Time Lady, but like I said, you don't have to be anything for me to love you." He cuddled her against him. "Zo-zo-zoe, my girl."

* * *

**_New Year's Eve 2000 _**

"You are acting as if you have never done this before," Donna finally announced.

John looked around, outside the window of the new Land Rover. Donna was in the backseat as he tried to navigate the streets on New Year's Eve. She rubbed her swollen belly and tried to keep calm with the contractions that were finally coming every five minutes or so.

"Traffic that way as well," John observed.

"Yes, John! It's bloody New Year!" She sighed. "Oh, my God."

John slammed on the brakes and turned back to face her. "What? What is it? Are they coming now?"

Donna rolled her eyes. "I think Charlotte spilled that fizzy drink back here when she said she hadn't."

"God, Donna! I could have had a heart attack! Not as if I have a spare!"

"We've had the car for a week, that's all! I don't know why you let them eat in here!"

"Donna, I don't think you should upset yourself."

"There's the turnoff for the hospital," said Donna. "There!"

John eventually parked and they went inside. The maternity ward was packed with women that Donna suspected were here intentionally. All she had heard throughout the pregnancy was about the whole New Year's baby thing. She just wanted two healthy babies, she didn't care when they were born. A boy and a girl. They weren't even really trying, it had just happened. The doctor gad actually given her a due date for the first of January, but who the hell actually delivered on their due date? Donna thought they might as well have been throwing darts on a calendar and seeing where they landed. Count on her to actually have it happen once. Her deliveries always had to have an element of drama, she supposed, probably came from her mother. She and John finally made it into a labor room.

"John, stop looking at your watch," said Donna.

John shrugged. "They obviously want to come out. Maybe they want to be New Year's babies. They could be first born. First twins at least, I would think, that has to mean something."

"John, they're fetuses. They don't know it's New Year."

"What if they do?" John looked out at the view of Big Ben from the window. "Suppose they do?"

She was curiously silent. John looked back.

"Donna, Donna..." He ran over to her bedside and shook her. "Donna!"

John ran out into the hall. "Help! I need some help! Something's wrong with my wife!"

* * *

Donna was walking in red grass. She had been here before. Twice before to be precise.

She looked up to see a man in the strangest outfit she had ever seen with the most ridiculous hat shoulder combination. Shoulder hat? The outfit made him seem very formal, but he felt familiar to her.

"What's going on?," asked Donna. "Why do I always have this dream?"

"Because when you give life you are as close as you can be to eternity and that is the only place where we exist."

Donna shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I am here with you. I have always been here."

"God," said Donna, "some people have dreams about George Clooney, I dream I'm in a field talking to an old man who talks in riddles."

Before Donna could inquire further, she snapped back awake. John was standing over her, along with a huge gathering of nurses and doctors. She heard Big Ben chiming in the background as people cheered.

She groaned and looked up at John. "I missed the bloody New Year, didn't I?"

"Yes," said John, voice cracking, "Yes, you did."

* * *

A/N: Apologies if you own a Fiat Panda.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry it's been so long. I've been writing and rewriting and rewriting and there was an incident with a puppy and a laptop cord. Thanks for the reads and reviews and follows. Anyway, sorry it's short, but let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

"Mummy, where are we going?"

Donna glanced in the rear mirror at Zoe. She had just picked her up from another day at school. "We're going to visit Nan."

Zoe froze. "Nan?"

"My nan. Yes. She rang the other day. She sounded lonely. I bet she could do with some visitors."

"Why don't Charlotte, Jack and Jamie have to come?"

"They'll come another time." Truth was, Donna was very slowly disseminating information about her family's new status through the family. Her grandmother was about the last person she wanted to tell and was secretly wondering if she just waited long enough, she wouldn't have to tell her at all. She knew it was awful, but she was still thinking it. "Anyway, your great-grandmother is very old and not feeling well. She needs some cheering up."

Zoe sighed. Donna kept driving.

They soon arrived at the rest home where Mariane Noble was spending her final days. She had never been an easy woman to deal with, even when she was younger and full of health. In Sylvia's more cynical moments- of which there were many- she commented that Donna took after the woman. Donna took exception to that. Mariane had hardly been a loving grandmother or a loving anything really, but Donna had been trying to take care of her when she could sense her dad was still ill, though he was getting much better.

Donna walked into the room, dragging Zoe along with her. The girl hated hospitals and the stay she had for her eye Christmas before last had not helped. It was a rest home, but she didn't really see the difference. It was a hospital for old people.

"Hi, Nan," said Donna. She looked down at Zoe and smiled. "I've got Zoe with me. Isn't that great?"

Mariane looked at Donna. "Oh, got you up the duff again, has he?"

Donna rolled her eyes.

"What's the duff?," asked Zoe.

"Never you mind," said Donna. She looked at her grandmother. "I told you I was expecting last month and the month before that and the one before that..."

"Oh, no one bothers to visit me anymore..."

"I do!," Donna said, feeling somewhat exasperated.

"Abandoned and left to die alone..."

Donna sighed. "I came when you rang, didn't I?"

"Yes, you couldn't have been any better if you were my real granddaughter."

"What?," asked Zoe.

"Nan, that's not funny."

"I wasn't joking."

"Nan," said Donna, "if you want people to visit, just say so. Don't create some sort of drama to make them talk to you."

"But you aren't," said Nan. "Some man in a frock coat dropped you off one day."

Donna groaned. "Seriously, Nan..."

"Brought you in a basket like you were the baby Moses! Left you with Geoffrey and your mother." She finished the last part with some disdain.

"Nan, that's mad. That's completely mad," Donna said quickly.

Something caught Donna's eye in the window. She looked back at her grandmother.

"Who's bloody making it up? Your mother's as barren as a binge eater's cupboard!"

"Stop it," Donna said sharply. Her attention was once again drawn back to the window. She saw a reflection.

It was a man from the field of red grass.

Donna looked back in the corridor. No one was there. She tried to shake it off.

"I'm sorry, Nan. I am not in the mood for this today," said Donna.

She grabbed Zoe by the hand and marched out.

"What did Nan mean?," asked Zoe.

"Nothing," Donna said stiffly. "She's a very bitter old woman."

Donna looked up and stopped in her tracks. She saw a woman, a woman who seemed foreign and familiar at the same time. She was dressed in a flowing red robe. Her head was covered by a strange hat in the same red.

"I name thee Donnavariadanna, Daughter of the Seers."

"Mummy, who is that?"

Donna looked down at Zoe. "You can see her?"

"Yes," said Zoe, sounding surprised.

"Just some nutter," Donna said quickly, keeping an eye on the woman as they passed.

"Mother of the five," said the woman.

"What?," asked Donna, snapping her head round, breaking contact with Zoe's hand. "What did you say?"

Zoe frowned. "Where did that lady go?"

Donna could still see her, though.

"The hour approaches."

"What does that even mean?," snapped Donna.

The woman faded away.

Donna didn't like that one bit. She took Zoe's hand and marched out of the rest home.

"Come on," Donna said to Zoe. "We'll get ice cream. Won't that be fun?"

* * *

Donna looked down at Jack. He was three weeks now, getting bigger.

"You know, Jack," said Donna, dressing him in a new outfit. The last had met an unfortunate end. "I can tell some things about you."

Jack cooed. Donna smiled.

"Well, you're handsome. Get that from your dad. You're a flirt. You must have learned that from your namesake. More importantly, you are a very sweet boy. The sweetest boy in the whole world."

"Donna!," John whined.

Donna sighed as she looked at Jack.

"Donna, I need your help!"

Donna picked up the baby and was in the sitting room within a few steps. They were still in John's bachelor flat. It had been a little tight with just Charlotte and they had made every effort at moving before Jack was born, but thanks to a combination of fate and their bloody estate agent, they still had a month to go before they could move into the new house in Ealing. Donna couldn't wait. It was spacious with room to grow into. Enough room for the babies and everything that went with them. There were good schools nearby and a park. It was the perfect place to raise a family.

If they could just live through the next month.

John was on the sofa with his chunky laptop set up on the tea table. He had some big project at work. He looked in dismay at it as Charlotte stood away a foot smiling broadly. Donna quickly spotted the cause of the trouble: an overturned toddler cup of milk. The sort that usually required a lid.

"She's completely tried my patience, Donna!," said John, motioning at the laptop. "Three weeks of work! My entire prospectus! I've got a meeting with Richard Branson's people!"

"Calm down," said Donna. "No point in crying over spilt milk."

"We've got to do something with her," said John, running his hand through his hair, completely overwhelmed.

"John, what do you expect?"

"We are too crowded in here," said John.

"Stop having a nervous fit," said Donna. "It'll be much better when we get to the new house."

"Oh, if it ever gets ready," said John. "Bloody estate agent. We should have just gone in."

"What? And have you do the household maintenance?," asked Donna. She caught a look at Charlotte holding a locket. She snatched it back. "Charlotte, don't play with that!"

John frowned. "I've never seen that before."

Donna shook her head. "You wouldn't notice if a piano fell in the sitting room."

"Oh, I think I might," said John.

"Here," said Donna, handing Jack to John. "You take him for a walk in the park."

"My proposal-"

"Is on the milk drowned laptop," said Donna. "Go for a walk with the baby and relax. The proposal will still be waiting back here."

John grumbled and got the baby in the pram. He was soon off and Donna was left to deal with the mess and the toddler.

"You are trying my patience, miss. You're going to send your poor father to the asylum and then where will we be?"

"Mummy," said Charlotte.

"Yes," said Donna. "With Mummy. Then I'll go mad. Then who knows what?"

"Five!," said Charlotte.

Donna turned to her and sighed again. "Five again? Is that still your favorite word?"

"Five, five, five!," she shouted.

Donna sighed. "I know. Five."

Donna realized she was still holding on to the locket and looked out at the mess Charlotte had made of the sitting room. Only it wasn't a mess. It suddenly made perfect sense. Charlotte had lined up everything in fives. Blocks in stacks of five. Toys in a row of five. Five, five, five. Why five?

Charlotte made another reach for the locket. Donna held it back defensively.

"You need to stay out of Mummy's things," said Donna.

She took the locket back to the bedroom and put it in the cedar box and locked it away.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes I do not own Doctor Who. Anyway, sorry it's been a while since I updated. Basically, haven't been feeling well and I did a half marathon. I feel as if the two may be connected. So, hope you liked the last one and hopefully this one. Anyway, happy reading!

* * *

"Good afternoon, boys."

Jack and Jamie looked up to see the headmaster, Mister Bentley. They were the last ones in the chemistry lab. They always were, which wasn't always a good thing.

"Good afternoon, sir," they said in unison.

Mister Bentley walked over and looked at the experiment the boys had going on the lab table. "This isn't a part of your normal school work, is it?"

"No, sir," said Jack. "It's just our mum said we couldn't do any more experiments at home."

"How is your mother?"

"Cross," said Jamie without missing a beat.

Mister Bentley smiled. "And how are things at home?"

"Fine," Jack answered.

Mister Bentley motioned at the project. "The thing is, this sort of thing is really a waste of your intellect. I wonder if you might be interested in a special project?"

The boys looked at each other.

"What sort of project?," asked Jamie.

"A fun one," said the headmaster.

A young woman, the assistant entered. "Sorry, Mister Bentley. Mrs. Smith is here to pick up the children. She's waiting outside."

"Very good," said Bentley. He looked at the boys. "Be on your way then."

The boys grabbed their knapsacks and ran out to the front of the school. It was like a fortress, with special UNIT security. The other children were all meant to be like them but when they pressed Uncle Ali for what that meant, he never answered. They spotted the Land Rover at the bottom of the steps. Charlotte was already fastening her seat belt. They gave their greetings to Zoe and got ready to go.

Then the car didn't move.

"Mum?," asked Charlotte.

Donna shook her head. "Sorry. What?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "I thought we were going home."

"Yes, of course we are. Right," said Donna putting the car in gear and starting the ride back to Ealing.

* * *

There was something wonderful about domestic.

If his ninth incarnation had truly been opposed to the domestic, it was only because it had reminded him of what he could never have again. Quiet evenings spent with children and grandchildren at his feet. A simple family meal where nobody said much of anything because they didn't need to. Time that was so wonderfully whittled away. It was so comforting, so safe.

The Doctor was in the sitting room with the girls. Charlotte was eager to share her new work. Zoe was sitting next to him on the sofa, playing with the Cinderella doll she had gotten on their trip to Disney World.

"See?," Charlotte said, pointing eagerly at her composition. "Five parts, five instruments..."

"Five chords, five notes," said the Doctor. "You're big on five, aren't you?"

"Mother of the five," Zoe added softly.

The Doctor's ears perked up. "Mother of the five? Where did you hear that?"

Zoe shrugged. The Doctor pulled her closer to him.

"It's just there was this old story, my dad used to tell it to me about it back when I was a boy, centuries ago. Well, millenia, really."

"A true story?," asked Charlotte.

"Probably a fairy tale," said the Doctor, "but it's always hard to tell with Time Lords. I had an uncle who was the basis for Rumpelstilskin."

"What story?," asked Zoe. "Was there a princess?"

"I suppose you could call her that, yes. She was supposedly meant to be one of the Seers, this secret order on Gallifrey. There was this lost princess," said the Doctor. "She was sent far from home when she was very young."

"Why?," asked Zoe, cuddling into the Doctor.

"Well, her home was in danger. Her father wanted to protect her. So, he sent her to live with aliens and she thought she was one of them."

"Like you?," asked Charlotte.

"No, not like me," said the Doctor. "I'm real. Well, most of the time, anyway."

"Didn't they notice she was an alien?," asked Zoe.

"No, of course not. They loved her," said the Doctor. "Neither did she."

"What happened?," asked Zoe.

"She met a prince," said the Doctor. "Someone just like her."

"This is a stupid story," said Charlotte.

"Maybe a little pedestrian," said the Doctor. "I mean, for a Time Lord story it is rather lacking in action. There's an awful lot of preamble."

"Did they get married and live happily ever after?," asked Zoe.

"Yes," said the Doctor, "they had five children. Five children to change the universe. See, the mother of the five gives light to the universe. The children are special."

"I was right," said Charlotte. "This story doesn't go anywhere."

"No appreciation for Gallifreyan storytelling," said the Doctor. "I suppose that's all my fault."

"What happens to the children?," asked Zoe.

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Story always stopped there. You do always have the best questions, don't you, Zoe?" He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Doctor!," Donna shouted.

The Doctor's eyes widened. He ran upstairs to the new nursery where Donna's shout had come from. Zoe and Charlotte were only footsteps behind and he heard Jack and Jamie barreling down from the top floor of the house. Donna was bent over the cot. The Doctor rushed over to her, failing to notice the wooden box sitting on the changing table.

"Donna?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. I don't know why I screamed. Honestly. You would think I haven't done this before."

"Done what?," asked the Doctor.

Donna narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you think?"

The Doctor's eyes darted around, looking for a hint.

"The baby's coming!," Donna finally spat.

"Oh," said the Doctor. "Oh. Right. Because you've done that before. And so have I. I mean, not exactly what you've done before, but I watched. I was a sort of participant. For that matter, so were the children, if you think about it-"

"Ring my parents and the hospital," said Donna.

"Right, yes, of course, I can do that."

The Doctor stood there.

"Then why aren't you?," asked Donna.

"Right," said the Doctor. "Right now. I am doing that right now. Uh, children, go boil some water or something."

"No one boil anything!," said Donna. "Doctor, do what I said. Charlotte, put my overnight bag in the boot of the car. Boys, you may order pizza."

The children ran off, quickly followed by the Doctor. Zoe looked at Donna.

"Can't I do anything, Mummy?"

Donna smiled. "Of course you can. You can sit with me and be a sweet girl like you always are."

"The hour approaches."

Donna looked up. It was the woman again. Before she was finished reeling from that, the man appeared.

"You step closer to eternity," he said.

"The hour approaches, mother of the five," said the woman.

"And you shall light the universe," said the man.

The man seemed to be nodding towards the box. It seemed to glow.

"Stop it," said Donna. "Just stop it."

"What did I do, Mummy?," asked Zoe.

Donna shook her head. "Nothing. You're fine."

"She shall join us," said the woman.

"Stop it," said Donna, getting out of her chair and approaching the woman. "Leave her out of this! Leave my children out of this!"

"They are everything," said the man.

"Mummy, what's wrong?," asked Zoe.

"Nothing," said Donna. She sat back down and willed herself to ignore the visitors. She grabbed Zoe and clutched her tightly. "Everything's fine, Zoe. Nothing is ever going to hurt you."

* * *

It was hot. It was humid. If Disney World was a holiday for children, it certainly didn't seem like one for adults. Donna had spent the past few days catering to the children's every whim and trying to keep them from being spoiled. For all intents and purposes, John was included among the children ever since he had insisted upon buying a Mickey Mouse hat and having his name embroidered on its front. Alright, Donna might have snuck one or two pieces more of fudge than she should have and then blamed its disappearance on her children, but she was doing so much bloody walking it had to cancel out. Not to mention dragging the four children around...

"Where's Zoe?," asked Donna.

John looked over. He spotted four heads. "Right there with the others."

Donna frowned. "John, that's not Zoe."

"Of course it's Zoe," said John. "Look, I've been following the system. Get in the queue, count to four. Get off the ride, count to four. Queue at the little shop, count to four."

"Kayla!," called a woman with a thick southern American accent.

The fourth head went scampering off.

"That's just not fair!," said John. He looked at Donna plaintively. "She was wearing the same dress!"

Donna motioned at the throng of children around them. "It's the Magic Kingdom, John! Almost every little girl here is wearing a Cinderella dress!"

"Can we go to Space Mountain?," asked Jack.

"No, we've got to find Zoe," said John.

"Can't we just meet her at the hotel?," asked Jamie.

"Oi! Stop being smart!," said Donna. "Come on. Hold hands!"

"Mum, that's so gross," said Charlotte.

"I don't care!" Donna pointed suddenly. "This way!"

* * *

It had happened so quickly. She had been walking out of the theater with her family and thought she had been following her dad. It had turned out it was just another tall man with Mickey Mouse ears. Now she couldn't see anyone. She tried to remember what Mummy had said to do if she found herself in this situation, but she couldn't. She was too busy fighting back tears as the crowds of people walked past her. She spotted a woman with ginger hair and tried to follow, but it wasn't her mummy. She looked up. She was all the way back at Splash Mountain, that was ages from the tea cups. That was it. She had no idea how to get back there. She clutched her new Cinderella doll and started sobbing.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

Zoe looked up. A young woman selling Mickey Mouse balloons had bent over to talk to her.

"I lost my family," Zoe said sniffling every other word.

"That's okay. I'll help you find them."

The girl put away her balloons and talked on a radio. Then she walked with Zoe back towards the tea cups.

"Zoe!"

Zoe turned. A man was running towards her. The woman looked down at Zoe. "Is that your dad?"

"No," said Zoe. "My dad is skinny and has a Mickey hat."

"Zoe! Thank God!" The man approached. Zoe clung to the young woman. "Thank you for finding her."

The woman frowned. "She says she doesn't know you."

The man looked down at Zoe. "Zoe, don't give us that. Come on."

Zoe felt her heart pounding in her head. She looked up at the woman. "I don't know him."

"This is ridiculous!," said the man. "Come on, Zoe!"

"I'm sorry, we're going to have to go to security to clear this up. I can't let you take her if she says she doesn't know you."

"Zoe! Stop it!"

"Zoe!"

Zoe looked up. Her mum was running from the other side of It's A Small World. She saw her dad and siblings not far behind him. Were they holding hands?

"Zoe!," Donna said in relief, throwing her arms around her. "Don't ever do that again!"

Zoe looked up past the woman. The man had gone.

"Zoe?," asked the woman.

"Yes, this is my mummy." Zoe looked at Donna. "I thought I lost you."

Donna shook her head. "You can't lose me, Zoe. Never ever."

"Blimey, Donna," said John. "How did you manage that? It wasn't even as if you were looking. You just ran a bit and there she was."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, I have psychic powers."

"Can we go on Space Mountain now?," asked Jack.

"I'm hungry," said Zoe.

Donna sighed as she looked at the desperation in Zoe's eyes. "We'll eat first."

"Come on!," moaned Jack. "You never let me on rollercoasters after we eat!"

"Then don't eat," said Donna. "But don't complain to me later."

"You are not eating," said Charlotte. "I don't want any more of your sick in my hair!"


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry, that is the longest I have ever taken to update something, but there were holidays, half marathons, two or three other stories and frankly, I wanted to make sure I had a grip on this story. I do, so the next update will be much sooner. Once again, sorry. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. Thank you so much for reading. I know it's been quite a long while so warning for timey wimey-ness. Happy reading!

* * *

Donna Smith was not feeling right.

It had started in the car, phasing in and out. Without knowing how it had happened, she was on a stretcher, pawing at the oxygen mask on her face. The Doctor seemed to be darting around, fighting for elbow room with an entourage of doctors and nurses.

Then she was back out.

* * *

Zoe stared out the window of her bedroom with Greta. It was raining, which was good because that was how she felt, which was not good.

It had been three days since Mummy had gone to hospital. Something had happened, none of the adults were saying much, they never did. She had seen Daddy briefly for him to explain that the baby was fine, but Mummy was ill. Zoe hadn't been able to think since then. She had even gotten sent home from school because she couldn't concentrate on her work.

She kept turning back to look at her locket. It sat in a case on a table in her room, now. The case was clear, but not glass, some sort of transparent aluminum alloy not that she understood that. It was locked with a DNA encoder, which she once again did not understand, but Daddy explained that she was the only one who could open it. She wondered what might happen if she did, but every time she got close, it scared her.

* * *

John Smith walked happily back to the hotel suite. He and Donna had been in Australia for three days now. It had been a great, if totally unexpected three days. He opened the door to the room and didn't see Donna.

"Donna?," asked John. "Donna?"

John walked into the bathroom of the suite. Donna was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs. He sat next to her. "What's wrong?"

She turned away.

"Donna, I'm happy about the baby. I really am. What about you?"

"I always wanted one," Donna said quietly.

"Okay. We're both happy, then. What's wrong?"

Tears were in her eyes. "I came all the way to the Great Barrier Reef and I can't scuba dive!"

Now he was confused. "Sorry?"

"The pressure change! It's not good for the baby! And I only find out now, after we've spent all this money and I'll never get to come again, probably-"

"We'll come back, Donna."

She shook her head. "People always say things like that and then they have kids."

John sighed. "So, you're not happy?"

"I'm happy! I want the baby, you moron!"

John stood up and held his hand out. "Come on."

"I don't want to."

"Donna, we are not like other people. We are not going to have kids and then do nothing! Now, maybe you can't scuba dive this trip, but you can go to the beach, we can take a tour, we can snorkel. You can sit in a hotel room back in London. Put on a swimsuit."

"I'll look fat."

"You will not." He kissed her on the forehead. "Come on."

John managed to find a snorkeling tour fairly quickly and they were off on a boat with a half-dozen other people to one of the accessible parts of the reef.

"Are you alright?," John asked over the boat engines.

"Yeah," said Donna, squeezing his hand. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's not morning sickness, is it?"

"Daughter," a voice said in the distance.

Donna whipped her head round, looking for the voice, but didn't find it.

"Donna?," asked John.

"I thought I heard someone," she said.

"Did you have enough to eat this morning?," he asked.

"Yes. God, I'm pregnant, not helpless," Donna spat.

"I just want to take care of you, Donna. That's all."

Donna looked up, blinking. She could swear there were two suns. She could hear a woman singing in some kind of foreign tongue.

"John?"

"Yes?"

She just shook her head as she stared at the suns and heard words she couldn't understand. John and the other passengers watched in horror as she stared out at the sun and folded to the ground.

* * *

Donna awoke with a start. She was in a hospital room. She looked around as she was hooked up to monitors and things. Out in the hall, John was nodding soberly as he listened to some doctors.

"John!," she shouted.

John looked up. The doctors looked at her as if she had just awoken from the dead. She didn't like it. John ran in first.

"Oh, God," said John, surrounding her with a hug. "Oh, thank you, God."

"What happened?," asked Donna.

One of the doctors spoke. "You were unconscious, Ms. Noble."

"Yeah, apparently," said Donna. Her heart dropped. "Is the baby alright? She's got to be alright."

"The baby's fine," said John.

Donna nodded, relieved.

"We'd like to run more tests," said another doctor. "We still don't know the reason why you lost consciousness in the first place."

"What sort of tests?," asked Donna.

"More scans, more blood work."

"Or it could have just been low blood sugar," a female colleague countered. She turned to Donna. "Gestational diabetes."

"We don't know that-"

"You don't know it's not," said the woman. She looked at Donna. "All of your other tests are clear. There's no point in more unless something changes. In the mean time, take better care of yourself and set an appointment with your GP when you get home."

The doctors left, still arguing.

John turned to Donna. "I want to get married."

Donna shook her head. "You don't have to say that."

"I'm not just saying it, Donna."

Donna shrugged. "Lots of people have babies and don't get married."

John shook his head. "I'm not them. Sorry, when it comes down to it, I don't think I'm that liberal. I want to get married. I want people to know we're together, that we belong to each other and our child."

Donna nodded. "I don't want people to know I'm pregnant yet, even my family. They'll think- you know what they'll think."

"I don't care what they think."

"And it would have to be quick. I don't want to be one of those girls whose water breaks on the altar."

"As soon as you want it," said John. He kissed her. "I love you so much."

* * *

Donna awoke with a start in another hospital room. She sat up, looking around. She quickly realized she was no longer pregnant. It was always such a strange feeling to her: being full of life and then all of a sudden, not. Like a deflated balloon or something.

"Doctor?," she asked. "Doctor?!"

Donna swung her legs around and put her feet on the floor. Oh, it was not a good feeling. She realized they must have done a cesarean which she hated the idea of, but supposed there must have been no other way. She walked slowly across the room and went into the corridor.

"Mrs. Smith?," asked a nurse.

Donna did not reply. She kept heading down the corridor, bracing herself against the wall.

"Donna?," asked the Doctor.

She hadn't noticed when he arrived.

"Donna, you need to get back in bed."

"I need to see the baby."

"Donna, you're not well-"

She slapped his hand away. "I want my baby."

"Okay," the Doctor relented. A nurse quickly came with a wheelchair. "Just, please, have a seat."

Donna sat in the wheelchair. The Doctor wheeled her further down the hall to the nursery's gallery.

"That's her," said Donna. It was a fact, not a question. First row, second from left, ginger hair and her brown eyes had opened as Donna arrived. She reached a tiny fist into the air.

"Yes," said the Doctor.

"I want her with me."

"Donna, you're still not well."

"She's my baby. I'm not looking at her through glass so either you get her or I will."

"Okay," said the Doctor.

Donna watched as he slipped behind the glass and conferred with one of the nurses, retrieving their daughter and bringing her back out. He placed her in Donna's waiting arms and she felt a feeling of relief washing over her.

"She's been fussy," said the Doctor.

Donna shook her head. "She's not fussy. She's an absolute lamb."

The Doctor moved the wheelchair next to a collection of chairs in the hall. He sat next to Donna.

"It was like what happened with Jamie and Zoe," he said.

Donna cuddled the baby closer. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't want to talk about why you almost died? Time Lord consciousness overwhelming human synapses. The baby's overwhelming yours?"

"Shut it," said Donna, looking back at her baby. She leaned down to the baby. "I love you and everything about you."

This seemed to please the baby.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "What have you been calling her?"

"Calling her?"

"How long have I been out?"

"Three days."

"And you've not been calling her anything?"

"I've been concerned with you-"

"I want to name her Molly, after my gran."

"Molly?," asked the Doctor. "Molly the Time Lady?"

"Yeah, Molly," said Donna. She looked back at the baby. "My little Molly. Have the children seen her?"

"No-"

"Did they see me?"

"No, Donna, you really don't seem to understand how precarious things have been."

Donna squared herself. "I want my children here."

"We really need to do more tests, Donna."

"Get me my children. God knows what they've been thinking. Especially Zoe. Have you told them anything?"

"Well-"

"Doctor!"

The Doctor stood, knowing the battle was lost. There was no getting between Donna and her children. "Okay, okay, I'll get them here."

Donna waited in the hospital room with the baby and the children finally arrived, accompanied by her parents and grandfather. Zoe ran to her first, climbing up on the bed.

"I missed you, Mummy," said Zoe.

Donna smiled. "I missed you too, love. Here, meet your baby sister."

Zoe looked down. "Hi."

"Zoe, don't crowd your mother," said Sylvia.

"She's fine, Mum," Donna said, more than a little annoyed. "Charlotte, boys, come here."

She embarrassed the other three with kisses.

"What are we calling her?," asked Charlotte.

"She's going to be Molly," said Donna. She caught sight of her mother and grandfather looking very touched. "After my gran."

"She would have like that," said Wilf. Geoffrey gave Sylvia a hug as she reached for a tissue.

"Can you come home?," asked Zoe.

"Your mum needs more tests-" the Doctor started.

Donna shot him a glare and looked back at Zoe. She smiled. "I'll be home very soon," said Donna. "Really. I promise. Have I ever broken a promise to you?"

"No," Zoe conceded.

"There you are then," said Donna. She gave her another kiss on the head.

"Can we go yet?," asked Jack. "I mean, we saw her."

They finished their session and sent the family off. Zoe was especially uneasy about going. The Doctor looked back at Donna. There was something about her. Something was different.

Oh, right.

She was mad at him.

"What did I do?," he squeaked.

"Our children come first."

"I was taking care of their mother."

Donna shook her head. "No matter what happens to me, don't leave them for days on end, don't shut them out."

The Doctor nodded.

"Now, that blue box of yours," said Donna. "It's at home, right?"

"Right."

"And it's got a clinic or something? Some fancy Gallifreyan things in it or something?"

"Right."

"Then I'm awake and I want to go home," said Donna.

"Donna, I still don't understand what happened, something is affecting your neural patterns and I can't account for it-"

Donna cut him off. She didn't want to think about the answer to that. "And you can carry on not understanding at home, alright?"

The Doctor exhaled. He was defeated and happy to be defeated. He walked over to his wife and gave her a kiss. "Yes, ma'am."

Donna smiled. "You're damn right. Now, sit down and look at your new daughter."

The Doctor put down one of the bed rails and scooted in next to Donna. The baby was squirming and cooing in her arms. The Doctor cooed back as Donna watched.

Donna looked up again. She saw the man and the woman in the red robes. They were standing together and looking at her.

And they were... smiling.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Yeah, it's been a while. Sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

"Hi, Mum!," said Donna.

Sylvia immediately leaned down to the baby in the carrier. "Hello, my little crumpet!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "I am up here, Mum."

"Come to Gran," Sylvia said in a cooing voice that Donna distrusted.

"Still right here," Donna said as she stood helplessly as her mum picked up Charlotte.

"What brings you here?," Sylvia asked.

"Well," said Donna, "I was out buying a hat for the christening and I realized I hadn't gotten Charlotte's outfit sorted."

"Are you certain about that name? It sounds so stiff."

"Yes, Mum, I'm certain. Anyway, I was about to go look at the shops when I remembered that old photo of me at my christening."

"Oh?," asked Sylvia, stiffening.

"I had rather a nice gown. I wondered if we still had it," said Donna.

"Well, I suppose it's in the attic, along with all that rubbish I wish your father would sort through."

"Do you know where?"

Just then, Geoffrey entered. "Donna, love. How are you?"

Donna greeted her father. "Dad, do you know where my christening gown is?"

"Of course I do. It's in the attic, in a cedar chest."

Sylvia shot him a look.

"What?," Geoffrey asked plaintively.

"Thank you, Dad," said Donna.

"You sure you can manage on your own?," asked Geoffrey.

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine."

Donna headed upstairs. Sylvia turned to Geoffrey. "What did you do that for?," she asked.

"I don't see what harm it can do," said Geoffrey. "It's just a gown. It's right for her to have it. It's what her family would have wanted."

"We're her family," Sylvia grumbled as she cuddled Charlotte.

Donna went into the attic. The cedar box was sitting on a disused bookcase she remembered from her childhood. She opened it and found the gown, neatly folded inside tissue paper.

She pulled it out and let it unfurl. It was more exquisite than she could have imagined. It was long, too long to be practical. There was lace over some kind of softer than could be believed silk. She stared at the lace pattern. It was like nothing she had ever seen, but could have sworn there was some sort of significance to the pattern. It must have been expensive. Donna wondered what might have compelled Sylvia to spend such a sum. She wasn't the sort to drop that many pounds on an item that was going to be worn once. Donna had been half expecting to find a polyester gown with the sale tag from John Lewis still attached.

She looked in the box. There was another small box inside with a more circular squiggles. She opened it to find a locket.

"Daughter, it is not time yet," a voice said. "They are not assembled."

Donna shut the locket back in the box and took the whole thing. She came downstairs to find her mum still fussing over the baby.

"Find what you needed, love?," asked Geoffrey.

"Yes," said Donna, "I'll just put it in the boot and be back for Charlotte."

"Oh, when are you going to let us watch her?," asked Sylvia. "We hardly spend any time at all with her!"

"Yes," said Geoffrey. "What do you say, Donna? We could look after her for the evening. You and John could have a nice evening out."

"I don't think so," said Donna.

"I raised you, didn't I?," asked Sylvia.

"I didn't bring any of her things."

"Well, you have the nappy bag and her carrier," said Sylvia. "We can make do for the evening. Honestly, all these gadgets you young people think you need for a baby!"

"She wouldn't spend the night," said Geoffrey. "Just come collect her around ten or so. Maybe later if you go to the cinema."

Donna looked at the baby. She did seem to be quite content.

"You're sure you don't mind?," asked Donna.

"I wouldn't offer if I minded," Sylvia said tartly.

"I've got three bottles in there," said Donna.

"Three?," asked Sylvia. "What is she? A footballer?"

"I like being prepared. There's blankets and fresh clothes and nappies-"

"I know what's in a nappy bag," said Sylvia.

Geoffrey cast an admonishing glance at Sylvia. He looked back at Donna. "We've got everything under control. You and John go have a nice evening."

Donna walked over and kissed the baby. "I'll be back, sweetheart. Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Dad."

* * *

John had responded rather enthusiastically to the news that they were baby free for the evening and before Donna could check what was playing at the cinema, she found herself in the bedroom where John apparently had his mind set on making up lost time.

She came out to the kitchenette where John was laying out the Chinese food.

"You're right on time," said John. "Just arrived."

"Don't you miss the baby?," asked Donna.

"We'll go collect her after we eat," said John, passing Donna a plate.

"You don't miss her?," asked Donna.

"She's fine for a few hours. Besides," he said with a grin, "we got to catch up on some things."

"My parents thought we'd be having an evening out," said Donna. "Not a shag fest."

"Do I hear complaining?," asked John. "I didn't a little while ago."

Donna smiled. "Yes, it was lovely."

"Thank you," said John, finally sitting next to her at the bar.

"Do you get used to being away from her at work?," asked Donna.

John nodded and took a bite of an egg roll. "I suppose I do."

Donna shook her head. "I don't think I could do it. It would make me ill."

"Oh?"

"I know I said I wanted to go back to work, but..." Donna just shook her head.

"You don't have to, Donna. We have plenty of money, my job pays well enough."

"What if we want a house, though?"

"We can get a house, Donna."

Donna tilted her head. "Where does your family get all its money from?"

John shrugged. "Alistair knows more about it than me. Point is, you don't need to work and we can find a house whenever you want."

John started eating. Donna picked at her plate.

"I'd like it to be the right house, though," said Donna. "Not a starter house. One we could stay in."

"Why would we leave?"

"If we grew."

"If we grew?"

"If we have more children?"

John smiled. "How many do you want?"

Donna sighed. "Maybe four? Or five even?," she asked sheepishly.

"Why do you look so embarrassed?"

Donna shook her head. "Nobody has five children anymore."

"I don't see why that should stop us."

John kept eating and Donna joined him. He stopped when he looked up to see her staring at him.

"I want to go get the baby," said Donna.

John sighed. "I'll get dressed."

They walked back to the bedroom and got dressed. It wasn't long before John noticed the cedar box on Donna's night table.

"Donna, what's this?," he asked calling into the en suite.

She glanced out. "Oh, my christening gown's in there. I thought it might be nicer than buying one in a shop."

John opened the box. He pulled out the gown. "This is rather nice."

"Isn't it?," asked Donna.

John stared at the pattern of the lace. Donna came back out.

"What's the matter?"

"There's something about this pattern," said John. "Something I'm not getting."

"I thought that as well," said Donna. "A bit odd."

"Why am I not getting it?"

"Come on," said Donna, pulling him by the arm. "I want to get the baby."

John put the gown back in the box and followed Donna out.

* * *

On her mantle, Donna Smith had proudly lined up photographs of her children at their christenings, all in the same gown that she had worn. She was looking at them again, anticipating Molly's christening that weekend. Everything seemed so different now, though. Her family was changing.

From her carrier set on the tea table, Molly let out a cry. Donna looked back, the baby smiled back at her.

"I know your game, miss," said Donna. "You just cry for attention."

Molly cooed back in agreement. Donna relented and lifted her from the carrier to cuddle her close.

"Well, don't you worry, your christening is this weekend. You're going to have all sorts of attention. The whole family will be there to look at you and tell you how wonderful you are."

"We're home!," the Doctor called.

Donna looked up to see her full brigade marching in. Zoe ran to her first and threw her arms around Donna.

"Hello, sweetheart, how was school?," asked Donna.

"Good. I drew you a picture. Want to see?"

"I would love to see," said Donna. Zoe started rustling in her backpack. She looked at the Doctor. "What took so long? You were gone hours."

"I had to wait on them!," the Doctor said, pointing a finger at Jack and Jamie.

"Mister Bentley had extra work for us," said Jamie.

Donna frowned. "Mister Bentley again?"

"I don't mind it," said Jack. "It's fun!"

"I don't know about your idea of fun," said Donna.

"I don't like him," said Charlotte. "He tried to get me extra work as well, but I'd rather be in the music department."

"See, Mummy?," asked Zoe proudly displaying a drawing. It was of the house and the family, including Greta.

"I love it!," said Donna. She looked to the Doctor. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"Brilliant! Quite remarkable in fact."

"The scale's off," said Jack.

"Why are there so many perspective changes?," asked Jamie.

Zoe's shoulders dropped and she looked downward.

Donna shot the boys a look and looked to Zoe. "Zoe, love, why don't you go change into your play clothes and I'll fix you a snack?"

Zoe walked off. Donna turned to the boys. "I don't like the cheek on you two lately."

They dropped their jaws in shock.

"What did we do?," asked Jack.

"You two just use any opportunity you can to put down your sister these days! I don't care if your Time Lord brains make you clever, that doesn't mean you get to be mean!"

"I was just saying..." Jamie started.

"It's her own fault!," Jack protested. "We didn't tell her not to open her locket! She could be as clever as us if she wanted."

"Probably more clever," said Charlotte.

"That's enough," the Doctor said sharply. He looked at the boys. "No one is going to force Zoe to open her locket until she is ready. That doesn't make her any less your sister and that's an end to it."

"Go to your room and think about what you did," said Donna.

The boys stomped upstairs as Charlotte soon followed to once again work on her music.

Donna looked at the Doctor. "Have you met this Mister Bentley?"

"No," said the Doctor.

"He's been keeping the boys after practically every day," said Donna. "Don't you think that's strange?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I was kept after class all the time."

Donna rolled her eyes. "I wonder why that was. Now, seriously, I don't like the sound of all this. You should go and have a chat with him."

"A chat?!"

"Yes, a chat. It was your friend who got them into this school, you should be the one to go complain."

"But you're the one who's unhappy!," the Doctor protested back.

"Doctor!"

"Fine," the Doctor grumbled. "I'll go do the complaining parent bit at the school even though you're better at it."

"Thanks," said Donna, with a roll of her eyes. "Did you pick up the dry cleaning?"

"Yes, I did deal with the dry cleaning." The Doctor pulled several hangers with Donna's dress and the christening gown off the coatrack.

"Where's the plastic bag?," asked Donna.

"I didn't exactly go to the cleaners," said the Doctor. "The TARDIS did it."

"What? You have a laundry room in there?," asked Donna.

"Yes."

"And so the ship just does the laundry like magic?"

"Well, not quite magic, there's a rather sophisticated system-"

"Point being, you've got a magic laundry room in your ship and you haven't bothered sharing it?"

"Yes."

Donna shook her head at him. "Do you think I do the laundry because I enjoy it?"

"Well, you do seem to do it a lot-"

"You're in charge of the laundry from now on," said Donna as she handed him the baby.

"Okay," said the Doctor, still completely confused.

Donna took the hanger with the gown and she noticed there was a cap hanging around the hanger. She pointed. "What's this?"

"Um, a hat?"

"Yeah, but there wasn't a hat before."

The Doctor squinted as he bounced Molly. "Well, it sort of matches, doesn't it?"

Donna sighed and looked, it actually matched perfectly. "Why does it match?"

"I don't know, maybe the TARDIS wanted to give the baby a present."

"And what? The TARDIS popped out to the shops?"

"Don't be ridiculous. She might have ordered over the internet..."

Donna shook her head. "I'm the ridiculous one?"

She noticed the Doctor was staring at the pattern of the lace.

"What?," she asked.

"This pattern. There's something familiar about it."

"No, there's not," Donna said quickly.

The Doctor stared back at her quizzically. The phone rang and Donna rushed to get it.

"Yes?" She sighed. "No, Dad, I'm not talking about this. She's not invited. I don't care-"

The Doctor watched as Donna sighed again.

"No, Dad, I don't care, I'm not saying it again."

There were a few more hushed words until Donna finally hung up.

"What was that about?," asked the Doctor.

"Nan. She's not invited to the christening."

"Why?," asked the Doctor.

"Because she's a mean, bitter old woman."

The Doctor shrugged. "Yeah, but that's never stopped you from inviting her before."

Donna shook her head. "I'm going to go make Zoe's snack."

The Doctor looked back at the gown as he cuddled Molly. "There's something special about that gown, isn't there, Molly?"

The baby cooed back in delighted agreement.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. So, hi, lurkers, which basically everyone is right now, so thank you for reading. Let me know what you think and happy reading

* * *

_2005_

Donna walked into Henrik's holding Jamie and Zoe by either hand.

"Can we look at toys?," asked Jamie.

"There are no toys here," said Donna.

From the expression on Jamie's face, it looked as if he had been struck. What an appalling concept, a store with no toys.

"Charlotte needs a new jacket and some tights," said Donna. "That's all. Then we can be off."

They took the escalator up to the girls' department, where Donna started looking through the coats. It had come to her attention that morning that Charlotte's sleeves were creeping up on her wrist, it was the same wool peacoat from last winter, but now was unsuitable. She realized that Charlotte might be taking after John's height, lucky girl. She rushed her way through.

"It moved!," said Zoe.

Donna looked up. Zoe and Jamie were standing in front of a display of mannequins.

"It did not," said Jamie. "It doesn't even have a face."

"Who says you need a face to move?," said someone with a Manchester accent.

Donna looked back up. A man was standing by Jamie and Zoe. He had his back to her, but he had cropped hair and a leather jacket.

"It moved," Zoe said to the man.

"Oh, I believe you," said the man.

"Jamie! Zoe!," Donna called. "We're leaving!"

"Is that your mum?," asked the man.

"Yes," said Zoe.

"You had better mind her," said the man. "Trust me, you want to leave this store."

Jamie and Zoe exchanged glances, then scurried back to Donna as she paid at the register.

"What were you doing?," Donna asked Zoe. "I've told you about talking to strangers."

"He wasn't very strange," said Zoe.

Donna sighed. "We're not coming back here."

"Why not?," asked Zoe.

"The clerks are all awful and the mannequins are creepy," said Donna, glaring at some as she walked out.

* * *

The christening party was a rousing success. Donna's family had taken over most of the house as usual. The nibbles and drinks were free-flowing and Donna was busy tending to her family as the kids ran around.

"Oh, Jack, you never age! How do you do that?," one of Donna's aunts said.

"Oh, Auntie Margo, you flirt," Jack said.

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes as Jack walked over to her.

"What?," asked Jack.

"Do you never stop?"

"Hey, it passes the time." He looked over across the room and saw a blonde that he thought he would quite like to know better. "Who's that?"

"Donna's cousin, Irene."

"Where's she been?"

"She was a bridesmaid at the wedding."

"Oh," said Jack. "Well, she's grown up now."

"Really, Jack..."

"Hey, if I could only date people my age, that would leave me with... no one." He looked around. "Now, where's the baby?"

Sarah Jane shook her head. "If Donna only realized how many times you used her children to pick up women..."

"People like you when you hold a baby." Jack looked around. "Actually, really, where is she?"

Sarah Jane looked around. "I don't know. I thought the Doctor had her last."

"I don't see him, either," said Jack. "I'll go check the attic."

"God help him if he's taken her somewhere," said Sarah Jane.

* * *

Jack hurried up to the attic, relieved to find the TARDIS was still there. He walked into the TARDIS. He looked over at the Doctor by the console to see Molly perched there.

Jack frowned. "Did you seriously just steal your own baby from her christening party?"

"Shut the door," said the Doctor, not looking up.

Jack shut the door and walked further in. "I'm just saying, Doctor, it's very hard for me to use my godfather credentials to pick up women without the baby."

Jack was surprised when he didn't get a response. "Doctor?"

"It's this lace, it says something in Old High Gallifreyan."

"Okay..."

"It's a really ancient dialect, I've had to widen the TARDIS' search parameters, not that she usually translates Gallifreyan."

"Isn't this Donna's christening gown? Why would it say something in Gallifreyan?"

The Doctor gave Jack a meaningful look.

"Oh, come on," said Jack. "Donna's a Time Lord?"

"Time Lady."

"Oh, well, then..." said Jack. He leaned in. "You know her family-"

"Maybe they're fob-watched."

"Yeah, Sylvia's a Time Lady, I'm buying that," said Jack, rolling his eyes. "You've seen her baby pictures. She's human."

The Doctor stood back. "I've never seen one of her in hospital. Humans always do that, don't they? Take a picture of the baby in the hospital, behind that little aquarium thing? What's that for, anyway? It's not as if they have to be kept in water. And what's with the color-coding?"

"The color-coding?," Jack asked.

"You humans, why do you have to color code your young? You know what gender your children are, it's of no possible consequence and yet you color code them. You only have two genders, anyway. It's madness!"

Something went ding. The Doctor looked at the monitor.

"What's that?," asked Jack.

"It's the seal of the High Order of the Seers."

"And who are they?"

"A sort of cult on Gallifrey, they were charged with seeing the future back in the old times. We moved on, they never stopped."

"So, it's a coincidence," said Jack. "Like when those Coke bottles said Allah in Arabic."

The Doctor looked at the baby. "The cap!"

"The cap?," asked Jack.

The Doctor didn't speak. He just walked out of the TARDIS.

"Okay, so am I taking the baby back to the party?," asked Jack.

* * *

The Doctor walked back into the master bedroom. There was a cedar box on the dresser, one that usually held the christening gown. He opened it to find another box, one covered in Gallifreyan writing and opened it to find...

A locket. He pulled it out to examine it properly. Gold, with the same constellation pattern as his watch had, but there was a stone set in the middle where Gallifrey would be.

"Sylvia!," he called as he arrived downstairs.

"Oh, look who's shown up at last," said Sylvia.

"Tell me about when you had Donna."

She stiffened. "I beg your pardon?"

"When you had her, when you gave birth to her."

Sylvia frowned at him. "What on Earth do you want to know that for?"

"Sylvia, is she adopted?"

Sylvia scoffed. "I don't have to stand here and answer ridiculous questions!"

The Doctor held up the locket. "Where is this from?"

He watched as Sylvia's face dropped. It clearly had some significance.

Just then, Donna walked over. "What on Earth possessed you to let Jack walk around with the baby-" She caught sight of the locket. "What are you doing with that?"

"I was hoping your mother could help me with that."

Donna stared at it as the gem glistened in the light. It was speaking to her again. Soon, daughter, soon.

"Give me that!," Donna snapped, taking the locket out of the Doctor's hand.

"You heard something, didn't you?," asked the Doctor.

"Of course I didn't! It's a necklace, not a bloody seashell!" Donna shoved past he and Sylvia, sprinting at the staircase.

The Doctor looked at Sylvia. "What are you not saying?"

"I don't have to answer to you? Am I in the dock?!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation and hurried after Donna. He found her back in the bedroom, shoving away the locket into its box.

"Donna?"

"Who said you could rifle through my things?!," Donna shouted. "It's a stupid locket! It doesn't even open!"

"You mean like my watch that didn't open?," asked the Doctor. "I think we all know how that story ends."

"This is not the same thing!," said Donna.

"The christening gown, the pattern in the lace, it's the Seal of the High Order of Seers-"

"And what are they?"

"They foretold the future."

Donna scoffed. "Must not have been very good at it."

"I think when you were an infant, you were taken and made human, hidden for your own safety."

"Oh, yeah, they just dropped me off in Chiswick, that's likely."

The Doctor ignored the comment. He knew Donna. When she was afraid, she lashed out. "The cap. It matched exactly."

"So, what? You said your spaceship found it on eBay."

"I think it was your cap. I think it would have had to come off to use the Chameleon Arch. The TARDIS must have just stored it until a few days ago."

"Yes, because the TARDIS has just been hanging onto my hat all this time-"

"She brought me here," the Doctor said cutting her off. "When I was human, I thought she brought me here because she knew Sarah Jane would protect me, but it wasn't just her. She knew where you had been left and set me up to find you."

"Right," said Donna, "because of course all alien children are taken and hidden for their safety in Chiswick and left to work as temporary secretaries."

"Have you ever seen a photograph where your mother's pregnant?"

"No."

"Well, then-"

"It doesn't mean anything. She won't let you take a photo of her if she feels bloated."

"Right, then. What about the locket?"

Donna shrugged. "What about it?"

"That box has your name on it. Your Time Lord name. Donnavariadanna." He edged closer. "That means something to you, doesn't it?"

Donna shook her head. "Of course it doesn't-"

"The Seers. They lived on the edge of the Untempered Schism, they have for billions of years. A gap in the fabric of time and space, it courses through you. Being human would not have been enough to mask it completely, you always would have known there was something different, something special about you."

"There is nothing special about me."

"How could you say that? How could you possibly say that, Donna?"

"I am not a Time Lady."

"You can hear it, can't you?"

"No."

"Did you lose consciousness when you were in labor with Charlotte?"

"What does that matter?"

"I wasn't there when you had Charlotte. Jack, Jamie and Zoe, Molly, every time. There was never any explanation for any of them. I think it was your Time Lord consciousness, wanting to surface to protect your children."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore-"

"Open the locket."

"No."

"If I'm just being an idiot, which I grant you, would not be the first time, just open the locket."

"Daddy?"

The Doctor turned to see Zoe standing in the doorway. "Yes, Zoe?"

"I don't want to be at the party anymore."

"What? Why not?"

"It's not fun. Nobody knows I'm there."

The Doctor walked over and scooped her up. "I know you're there."

"I don't know why you'd wish this on us," said Donna, storming out.

Zoe looked at the Doctor. "What's wrong with Mummy?"

"She's just upset," said the Doctor. He looked back at Zoe. "Don't worry about the party. Humans just like novelty. New things, that's what they make a fuss over. The baby is just new and we have to let her have her day."

"I'm not new."

"You are brand new to me," he said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Best bit is, I am so old, you always will be brand new."

"How old are you?"

"Oh, let me think about that," said the Doctor, tilting his head back as he tried to calculate. "Nine hundred and three?"

"That's a lot," said Zoe.

"I know. I can't even use my fingers to show people." He sat down on the bed with her. "Zoe, why don't you want to open your locket?"

Zoe looked down.

"I'm not saying you have to, I'm just curious why."

"It's scary."

"Yes, but why is it scary?"

"It keeps talking."

"What does it say?"

"It says I have to do something."

The Doctor frowned. That was disconcerting. "What does it say you have to do, Zoe?"

"Close the circle."

"The circle?"

"When the hour arrives."

"Close the circle when the hour arrives," the Doctor said.

"I don't have to, do I?"

"I don't know," the Doctor said. "I do know that I will be there to help you sort it."

The Doctor looked up to see Geoffrey in the doorway.

"Oh, hello, Geoffrey!," said the Doctor.

It was a long, tense moment before he spoke. "Sylvia said you had some questions."

"I did," the Doctor answered, surprised that the man had actually come to him.

"I think it's finally time that the truth came out," said Geoffrey.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I hope you all are enjoying this. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

_**2007**_

John rushed back in the master suite.

"Okay, Jack is asleep, Charlotte is asleep. Jamie got back up, but now he's back in bed. All children and the dog are accounted for and not in this room! It may not last, it never does," he said, peeling off his shirt. He looked to the doorknob. "Right. I had better lock that."

John locked the door and turned back around to face the bed. Donna was laying on it with her back to him.

"You didn't fall asleep, did you?"

He then heard sniffles and a sob.

"Donna?"

The sobbing grew heavier. "I'm fine."

John approached gingerly. This was not turning out to be as promising an evening as he had thought when he set off to put Jack and Charlotte to bed. "Are you crying?"

This query unleashed an all out sob.

"Donna? What's wrong?"

John watched Donna's body shake as she cried more. He crawled behind her on the bed.

"Donna, what is it?" He paused. "It's not some woman's issue and you've just seen an advert with a lost duckling or something, have you?"

She stopped sobbing. "I am not on my period!," she snapped.

"Okay."

Donna resumed sobbing.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

She stopped and glared at him once more.

"I mean, it's fine if you are. I mean, not fine, well, better than fine, really. I'm happy, well, assuming you're happy and-"

"I am not pregnant!," she shouted.

"Oh, sorry-"

"What is it with men?," said Donna. "Why is it every emotion we have must be dictated by our hormones? Sometimes we're just angry because our husbands are great, blooming idiots!"

"Okay," said John.

She glared at him a few more seconds.

John swallowed. "Why are you crying?"

The tears once again flowed freely. "Because it's all going to end."

"What is?"

"We are!"

John shook his head. "Donna, I told you I had never seen that girl. Check my mobile, my email, whatever you want-"

"I know."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"You. And me. What do you even see in me? Why aren't you off with someone else? Someone prettier, cleverer-"

Jon took her face in his hands. "Donna, stop it."

"But-"

"I think you're perfect. I don't think anyone could ever be any better. There is no one else out there worth looking at, not in the world, not in the universe, in fact." John took Donna in his arms and pulled her close.

"Back at the office, that first day," said Donna, looking up to see him, "what did you ever see in me?"

John thought on it and looked back. "I saw the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," he answered with a smile.

* * *

After the party had cleared, Charlotte noticed her parents, grandparents, Auntie Sarah Jane and Cousin Jack speaking in hushed tones. She and her siblings were unceremoniously pushed into the kitchen, where the boys were content to hunt the pantry. Zoe colored as Charlotte tried to listen through the door.

"Did they say what it was about?," asked Charlotte.

"Something about the truth coming out," Zoe mumbled.

"The truth?," Charlotte frowned and cracked the door open.

"Okay," said Donna, "what is this? Play a practical joke on Donna day? Ha ha. Very funny."

"It's not a joke, sweetheart," said Geoffrey. "I'm sorry."

Sylvia wouldn't even look up at Donna, just stared at her feet.

"Sorry for what?!," Donna shouted. "Never telling me I was adopted or making up this rubbish story?!"

"It's the truth, Donna," said Geoffrey.

"People didn't talk about it in those days," said Sylvia.

"Donna-" started the Doctor.

"Shut up!," Donna shouted. She whipped her head back round to interrogate her parents. "So, what? Some man just dropped me off and said, 'Here, go ahead and raise her' and you went along with it? Who does that?"

Jack looked up from a laptop. "The UNIT database is showing some sort of disturbance originating in London that day."

Donna now turned to Jack and Sarah Jane. "You two investigated me before I got married, right?"

"Yes," said Sarah Jane.

"Up and down, left to right, my whole life."

"Yes," said Sarah Jane, increasingly nervous about answering the next question.

"At any point, did it happen to come out that I was from another planet?"

"All he said was that you would be alone in the universe," said Sylvia, still not looking up.

"Were those his words?," asked the Doctor. "In the universe?"

Donna snapped back. "I am not a bloody Time Lord!"

"No, you're a Time Lady," said the Doctor.

Donna scowled. "Do I care?!"

"Donna, at some point, you are going to have to start facing the fact that you are not human! Well, you are now, but not really."

"I am not."

"Of course, if you opened the locket, we could settle this question once and for all."

Donna stalked over to the front door.

"Where are you going?," asked the Doctor.

"Out."

The Doctor shared exasperated looks with the other members of the discussion. He got up and ran after her, following her out onto the pavement. "Donna, where do you think you're going?"

"I don't care!"

"Okay, if you're a Time Lady, what's the worst that could happen?," he asked, trying to keep pace with her.

"We were happy!," she shouted.

"I'm not following-"

"We were happy! John Smith and Donna Smith and our children and we were happy! We had a great life! No one could ask for a better one!"

"I agree," admitted the Doctor.

"Then why did you have to ruin it?!," she screamed.

She stopped walking. The Doctor was frozen in his tracks.

"Do you think I don't realize that?," he asked. "I tried to hide it from you, Donna. I did. It didn't work."

"Yes and look what's happened since! You're off all day to God knows where, Zoe is an outcast among her own siblings! Her twin barely talks to her! Can your superior Time Lord brain grasp what that means to her? Her twin!"

"I know it's been hard."

"So, why don't I just open the locket and see what havoc I can wreak on what's left of the family?!"

"So, that's what this is about?," asked the Doctor. "You're afraid for the family? You know you're a Time Lady and you're just hoping to put it off? To what end, Donna?"

* * *

"What?," asked Jack the younger.

"Mum is a Time Lady," said Charlotte.

"How?," asked Jamie.

"How do you think? Same as Dad. She's got a locket. Only she was a baby when she came to Earth."

"Then Mum can be like us then!," said Jamie.

"We can travel in the TARDIS!," Jack added enthusiastically.

"Don't be stupid," said Charlotte. "Even if Mum's a Time Lady, she won't want to travel in the TARDIS. Can you imagine Jamie on an alien planet?"

Jack snorted. "I saw him. He was rubbish."

"Was not!," said Jamie.

Charlotte put her hands on her hips. "You went on a trip in the TARDIS?!"

"By accident!," said Jamie.

"You weren't supposed to say anything!"

"You said it first! Besides, we'll still be stuck with Zoe!"

Zoe looked up. She ran out of the room. Charlotte turned to the boys.

"What did you say that for, you idiots?!," Charlotte snapped.

"It's not out fault we have superior intelligence," said Jack.

"Mister Bentley said so," Jamie added.

"Shut it!," Jack snapped.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. "What has Mister Bentley been saying? What special project have you two been working on?"

"None of your business," said Jack.

"It's just I can't imagine anything you two clods would be good at," said Charlotte.

"Oi!," said Jack. He rushed forward and grabbed a lock of Charlotte's auburn hair.

"OW!," Charlotte screamed loudly.

Jack the elder entered and looked at the fray. "Okay. What is it I'm supposed to do here?"

"You tell Jack to stop being such a plonker!," said Charlotte.

"You're insufferable! And your nose is big!," said Jack the younger.

Charlotte reached around and grabbed Jack the younger's hair by its root. He screamed in pain.

"Yeah," said Jack the elder. "Does anybody want more biscuits?"

* * *

Donna entered, quickly followed by the Doctor. Geoffrey and Sylvia had left as well as Sarah Jane. Jack was standing in the sitting room with Molly.

"Where did you two go?"

"Uh, Tesco on the high street before she turned around," said the Doctor.

"Your parents and Sarah Jane went home," said Jack, passing the baby to Donna. "Kids are fine, maybe missing some hair, but I've got a question about Zoe."

"Yes?," asked Donna.

"When little kids say they're running away, are you supposed to ignore them? Because I just sort of said okay and she's packing a bag. Also, she says she's taking the dog."

Donna shook her head. "What is with these children and running away?!"

"I'll talk to her," said the Doctor.

The Doctor walked upstairs and into Zoe's room. Greta was perched on the bed observing as Zoe was stuffing a large rolling suitcase with most of her toys.

"Oh, you pack like your mother," said the Doctor.

Zoe didn't answer. She went to her wardrobe and got her Cinderella dress. The Doctor sat down on the bed and started petting Greta.

"Just where are you going?"

"I don't want to be here! I don't want to be a Time Lord!"

"Time Lady," said the Doctor.

"You can't make me!"

"I'm not making you."

"Mummy is like you! She's from Gallifreya!"

"Gallifrey," said the Doctor. "Zoe, I won't make you do anything, but being a Time Lady... it's waiting for you and it's not so bad. You don't need to be afraid of it."

"Then why's that locket so scary?"

The Doctor for once didn't have an answer. "I don't know."

* * *

_**2001**_

Donna awoke, checking the clock out of habit. It was three AM. One of the twins should have awoken her an hour before. She then realized that her husband was not in bed with her. She got up, threw on her dressing gown and headed next door to the nursery.

Jamie was still fast asleep, which was basically unprecedented. Zoe wasn't in her cot, though.

Donna walked downstairs to continue her search. She found John pacing up and down the sitting room as he held Zoe.

"_And I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more just to be the man who would walk a thousand miles to fall down at your door..._" He looked over to see Donna. His face reddened ever so slightly. "You heard me."

"Yeah, sort of did," Donna said with a sly smile. She walked over to peer at Zoe as John cradled her. "I didn't even hear her wake up."

"Oh, Zoe and I have a thing. I get up, take her for a turn in the sitting room, put her back down."

"You never said."

"Why should I have said?"

"Because you're a man and you like to moan about housework and child-rearing."

"You know, I can do things."

Donna watched as he rocked Zoe back and forth.

"Don't you have to get up for a run soon?," asked Donna.

"Twenty miles."

Donna shook her head. "You are such an overachiever."

"You know, I think she's the special one..."

Donna dropped her jaw. "John! You prat!"

"What?"

"You can't have favorites among your children!"

"I didn't say favorite..." John stammered. "I said special. There's a difference. Like I'm sure Winston Churchill's mum loved her other kids, but looked at Winston and said 'You know what, he's going places.'"

"Winston Churchill?"

John looked at Zoe. "They have the same cheeks..."

Donna sighed. "Put her back when you're finished and don't you dare wake Jamie." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

John looked back at Zoe. "You are the special one... _and I would walk five hundred miles just to walk five hundred more..." _


End file.
